Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, disclosed a groundbreaking report during the National Board for Wildlife meeting, revealing the results of India›s inaugural scientific exercise to assess the snow leopard population. The Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) program, conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) with the support of snow leopard range states and conservation partners, marks a significant step toward understanding and conserving these elusive creatures.
The comprehensive assessment covered over 70% of the potential snow leopard range in India, spanning 120,000 km2 across the trans-Himalayan region, including Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. The study, carried out from 2019 to 2023, employed a meticulous two-step framework, estimating snow leopard abundance using camera traps and recording their signs over 13,450 km of trails.
The results are remarkable, with snow leopard occupancy documented in 93,392 km2 and an estimated presence in 100,841 km2. A total of 241 unique snow leopards were photographed during the exercise. The population distribution across states reveals Ladakh leading with 477, followed by Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21), and Jammu and Kashmir (9).
Previously, the snow leopard range in India was poorly defined, with around one-third receiving minimal research attention.Recent status surveys have significantly improved understanding, covering 80% of the range compared to 56% in 2016.
The report emphasizes the establishment of a dedicated snow leopard cell at the Wildlife Institute of India under the Ministry, focusing on long-term population monitoring. States and Union Territories are encouraged to adopt periodic population estimation approaches, offering valuable insights for conservation strategies and addressing threats to this vulnerable species.